Ontario Construction News staff writer
Canada has suspended trade negotiations with the United States, and will match new tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement late Friday, clearing the way for new 50 per cent tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump to take effect at midnight on $28 billion worth of Canadian goods.
As a result, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued guidance to importers saying the Canadian products identified by President Donald Trump would face the new tariffs after 12:01 a.m.
In a written statement released shortly before midnight, Carney said Canada would retaliate with dollar-for-dollar tariff”s, “to protect our workers and businesses.”
“In recent weeks, we made important progress toward improving Canada’s position a having the best deal in the world with the U.S.,” Carney wrote. “However, that progress hasnot been enough to met our objectives for Canadians. As a result, this evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotions with the U.S. and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa.
“Last minute changes in the U.S. propose terms were unfair uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal.”
The federal government will introduce additional measures to support Canadian workers and businesses, according the the prime minister’s statement.
United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada had walked away from a deal that had been negotiated earlier in the week.
“Tonight, Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week,” Greer told reporters during a virtual briefing. He said new Canadian demands and reversals on previous commitments had disrupted the balance reached in recent days.
A U.S. official said Canada had was seeking concessions Washington was unwilling to make, particularly involving the automotive sector and trade in steel, aluminum and lumber.
